Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 28, 2026

Exploring the Role of Deontic Reasoning and World Knowledge in Wason´s Selection Task
Published on: July 22, 2025
Biologically-related or emotionally-connected: who would be the better surrogate decision-maker?
Ashleigh Watson1, Brigid Sheridan, Michelle Rodriguez
1Department of Neurosurgery, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, Mail Code 7843, 7703 Floyd Curl Drive, San Antonio, TX, 78229, USA.
Abstract:
As an incapacitated patient is unable to make decisions regarding their care, physicians turn to next-of-kin when appointing a surrogate decision-maker in the absence of an advanced directive. With the increasing complexity of modern families, physicians are facing new ethical dilemmas when choosing the individual to make end-of-life decisions for their patients. Legal definitions and hierarchies are no longer adhering to the purpose of a surrogate-decision maker, which is to maintain a patient's autonomy. Moral criteria for surrogates, which emphasize the importance of making decisions that align with the patient's desires and wishes and negate biological relationships over emotional connections, are becoming much more important. This paper explores a case study in which physicians must appoint a surrogate decision-maker for an incapacitated patient, forced to choose between a biological relationship and a strong emotional connection.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Ethical Dilemmas II
Decision Making: P-value Method
First, a specific claim about the population parameter is proposed. The claim is based on the research question and is stated in a simple form. Further, an opposing statement to the claim is also stated. These statements can act as null and alternative hypotheses: a null hypothesis would be a neutral statement while the alternative hypothesis can...
Decision Making: Traditional Method
First, a specific claim about the population parameter is decided based on the research question and is stated in a simple form. Further, an opposing statement to this claim is also stated. These statements can act as null and alternative hypotheses, out of which a null hypothesis would be a...
Psychosurgery
Historical Development of Psychosurgery
In the 1930s, Portuguese neurologist Antonio Egas Moniz introduced a surgical procedure designed...
Standards of Care II
Decision Making
Automatic decision-making is fast, intuitive, and relies on gut feelings...

